Submarine boat.



S. LAKE.

SUBMARINE BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-.6. 1915.

Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET i.

S. LAKE.

SUBWARWE BOAT.

v RPPLICATON FILED AUG.6 1915- 1 A I A m 0 ll lgaflfi fi o 111mm Apr.18, Uh).

2 SHEETS-*SHEET 2.

SIMON LAKE, OF MILFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE LAKE TORPEDO BOATCOMPANY OF MAINE, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF MAIN'E.

SUBMARINE BOAT.

LTMMZFS.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1d, 191%.

Application filed August 6, 1915. Serial No. 44,081.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SIMON LAKE, a citizen of the United States, residingat Milford, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, haveinvented certain neW and useful. Improvements in Submarine Boats, ofwhich the following is a specification.

In the construction of submarine torpedo boats adapted for surfacecruising on the high seas, it is of the highest importance to provide ahigh freeboard and large percentage of reserve buoyancy withoutdeparting from the lines most suited to surface speed, in addition toarranging the ves sels for most efficiently performing. their functionswhen wholly submerged.

The object of the invention is to provide a novel construction of thehull proper of submarine boats so as to obtain a higher freeboard and a'greater metacentric height both for surface and submerged operations,and hence, greater surface and submerged stability, than has beenpossible in'other boats of this class heretofore constructed, theconstruction being such that but slight additional wetted surfaces areproduced so that both the surface and submerged speeds will not begreatly affected when operated under a given amount of horse-power.

The invention consists in a submarine or submersible boat having airandwatertight pressure-resisting buoyant chambers or sponsons arrangedexteriorly of the hull at the waterline thereof when the boat is trimmedfor surface navigation, said chambers or sponsons" extending throughoutpractically the entire length of the boat, and preferably substantiallysemi-circular in cross-section and of tapering form toward their ends sothat but slight additional frictional. water surfaces are added and thefine speed lines of the boat retained.

The invention further consists in certain details of construction and inthe peculiar arrangement and location of the buoyant pressure-resistingchambers or sponsons, as will be hereinafter fully described and thenclaimed.

In the drawings, illustrating the invention, in the several figures ofwhich like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is a diagrammaticside elevation of a submarine or submersible boat provided with myimprovement. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same. Fig. 3 is a transversesection drawn on a slightly larger scale on the line a-a: of Figs. 1 and2.- F ig.4 is a similar view drawn on the line b b of Figs 1 and 2. F1g. 5 is a' diagrammatic cross-sectional view illustrating a slightlymodified construction .in the manner of connecting the superstructure tothe buoyant chambers.

1 designates the main hull of the boat, of substantially cylindricalcross-section at amidships, and tapering toward the bow and sternportions thereof, the plating 3 of the hull being supported by andconnected to the ribs 4: of the hull in the usual manner. Built upon thesides of the main hull 1 and having their edges connected airandwater-tight thereto, are casings 2 which in connection with the adjacenthull form buoyant chambers or sponsons, said buoyant chambers orsponsons being preferably substantially semi-circular in cross-section,and constructed of sufiiciently heavy material to prevent collapse whenthe boat is submerged to the depth for which the main hull isconstructed. The outer sides of .the buoyant chambers or sponsons 2 aresubstantially vertical and extend tangentially from the outer curvedportions thereof, and have their lower or outer longitudinal edges andtheir ends flared outwardly as at 5 (Figs. 3, 4: and 5), to lie flatagainst the skin or plating of the main hull to facilitate the rivetingthereto. The upper or inner longitudinal edges of the casings arepreferably connected to the hull plating or skin by angle irons 5, asshown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, or the said edges may be bent out- .wardly inthe same manner asthe outer longitudinal edges, it being understood thatthe angle irons are avoided at the lower or outer exposed edges .of thechambers or sponsons so as, to avoid possible speed resisting surfaces.The chambers or sponsons 2 are braced throughout their length by frames6, which are positioned upon the hull, and the lower ends of'the framesare strengthened bybracket plates 6 to prevent collapse of the vert1calsides of the chambers or sponsons. The spaces thus formed by thechambers or sponsons and the hull of the boat may be sub-divided. bvimperforate plates 6, as shown to the left in Fig. 3, thus providing aplurality of air-tight chambers, or, if desired, the plates 6" may beprovided with openings, as shown to the right in Fig. 3.

lVhile I have shown the chambers or sponsons having vertical sides, itwill be well understood that they may be of true semi circular form andtheir lower edges extended to the hull as shown in dotted lines in Fig.3. It will be seen that by-thus bracing the sponsons, I transmit thestrain upon the hull, imposed by the external pressure, throughout theentire width of the sponsons.

Built upon the hull 1 is a superstructure 7, having its lower side edgesconnected airand water-tight to the tops of the chambers or sponsonsthroughout the major portion of their length, and forward and aft of thesaid chambers or sponsons to the skin of the boat as shown. As shown,the superstructure7 is provided with a flat deck 8 and substantiallyvertical sides 8-, and is tapering in horizontal section toward the bowand stern in the 'usual manner. In practice, the superstructure isconstructed of a lighter weight material than the main hull plating 3,and the buoyant chambers or sponsons, and the space thus formed isdesigned to be filled with water as in my Patent No. 650,758.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2-, 3 and 4, the lower edges of the sides 8 of thesuperstructure are connected to the tops of the buoyant chambers orsponsons at the amidships section of the boat and are, of course, formedto fit the curvature of the sponsons toward theiqends, although I do notwish to be confined' to this particular arrangement, as it will beunderstood that the sides 8 of the superstructure may be extended downand connected to the substantially vertical outer sides of thechambersor sponsons, as shown -in Fig. 5, in which construction it willbe seen that the upper ends of the sponsons are inclosed entirely withinthe superstructure.

. In either construction, however, it will be noted that the tops of thebuoyant chambers or sponsons will be above the water line, indicated atW. L, in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, when the boat is lying at the surface andtrimmed to an even keel, although it will be understood, as in allsubmarine boats, as well as in surface boats, when the boats are trimmedfor surface navigation the ballast is so arranged that the boat will betrimmed by the stern to .thus better adapt them for surfacenavigatiombutwhen submerged, and the boat is trimmed to an even keel, the verticalcenters of volume of the chambers 'or sponsons will be substantiallyparallel with the longitudinal axis of the boat and to the surface ofthe water, so that a uniform buoyant medium will be provided fore andaft of the center of gravity and center of buoyancyof the boat, thusincreasing submerged stability,-it being also understoodthat thechambers provide an increasedamount of reserve buoyancy above the centerof gravity of the boat, and consequently materially increase themetacentric height, thus greatly adding to the submerged stability.

It is well known that all submarine boats are operated submerged with areserve buoyancy of three or four hundred pounds, this normal reserve ofbuoyancy being supplied by the chamber formed by the conning'towers ornavigating-turrets, so that under normal conditions, if the propulsionof the boat was stopped, the boats will automatically rise to thesurface.

Ordinarily, the reserve buoyancy, or the difference between the lightand submerged displacement, of this class of boats is comparativelysmall, and when operating on the surface, but littlefreeboard isprovided, which not only reduces the sea going qualities of the boat,but also, even in moderately rough weather, prevents operations beingcarried out upon the deck, owing to the seas breaking over the deck,hence, adding danger and discomfort to the crew worklng or exercising onthe deck. By my invention, I not only increase the height of thefreeboard when the boat is operating on the surface and hence increasesurface buoyancy and sea going qualities, but I also greatly increasethe metacentric height of the boat, and consequently, its surface andsubmerged stability.

It will be further understood that by the peculiar location andconstruction of my buoyant chambers or sponsons, I strengthen the hullof the boat at the water line by providing protecting surfaces whichserve -to prevent injury to the main hull of the and when making alanding, and also in the event of the boat striking an object lying uponthe surface when emerging after submerged maneuvers.

It will also be understood that the sides of the superstructure at theends of the buoyant chambers or sponsons will be shaped to fit over thetapering ends of the chambers or sponsons, so as to preserve the contourand even surfaces of the sides of the superstructure both forward andaft, and .the even contour of the hull, whereby to preserve the speedlines of the boat.

What I claim is 1. A submarine boat, having longitudinally arrangedairand water-tight chambers or sponsons built upon the hull at the waterline thereof when the boat is trimmed for surface navigation, saidsponsons extending throughout a part of the length of the boat andconstructed of sufficiently heavy material to prevent collapse when theboat is submerged to its designed depth.

2. A submarine boat, having longitudisons built upon the hull at thewater line thereof when the boat is trimmed for surface navigation andconnected to the hull airand water-tight and constructed of sufiicientlyheavy material to resist external pressure when the boat is submerged,said sponsons extending throughout a part of the length of the boat.

3. A submarine boat, having l0ngitudinally arranged airand water-tightchambers or sponsons built upon the hull at the Water line thereof whenthe boat is trimmed for surface navigation, and extending throughout themajor length of the boat, said sponsons being substantiallysemi-circular in cross-section and of gradually decreasing diameterstoward their ends and constructed of material sufficiently heavy toresist external pressure when the boat is submerged.

4. A submarine boat, having longitudinally arranged airand water-tightchambers or sponsons constructed of material sufficiently heavy toresist external pressure when the boat is submerged and built upon thehull at the water line thereof when the boat is trimmed for surfacenavigation, and extending throughout the major length of the boat, saidsponsons being substantially semi-circular in cross-section and ofgradually decreasing diameters toward their ends, and havingsubstantially vertical outer sides.

5. A submarine boat, having longitudinally arranged airand water-tightchambers 0r sponsons constructed of material we at a patent y be obtedltor five cents each, by addressing the "to sufliciently heavy to resistexternal pressure when the boat is submerged andbuilt upon the hull atthe water line thereof when the boat is trimmed for surface navigation,and extending throughout the major length of the boat, said sponsonsbeing substantially semi-circular in cross-section and of graduallydecreasing diameters toward their ends, and transverse frames orpartitions connecting said chambers or sponsons to the skin of the boat.

6. A submarine boat, having longitudinally arranged chambers or sponsonsconstructed of sufficiently heavy material to prevent collapse when theboat is submerged to the depth for which the main hull is constructedand permanently air and Water tight and built upon the hull at the waterline thereof when the boat is trimmed for surface navigation, andextending throughout the major length of the boat, said sponsons beingsubstantially semi-circular in cross section and of gradually decreasingdiameters toward their ends and having substantially vertical outersides, and a superstructure built upon the main hull and having itslongitudinal edges connected-to said chambers or sponsons, substantiallyas shown and specified In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my handthis 22nd day of July, A. D. 1915.

' SIMON LAKE.

Witnesses:

C. E. ADAMS, M. E. l'lrroncoox.

Waehlnmen, n. U.

